1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robot for driving an automobile in the case where a performance test and others of said automobile are carried out by the use of a chassis dynamometer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an emission test and a fuel-consumption test and others of an assembled automobile and the like by driving under various kinds of mode, said automobile has been driven in accordance with a previously appointed driving pattern on a chassis dynamometer. And, this travelling of the automobile has been carried out by a robot to for example save a labor and improve a reproducibility in driving. A robot for driving a motorcar shown in for example FIG. 15 has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 2-280,478.
Referring to FIG. 15, reference numeral 71 designates a robot and reference numeral 72 designates a body constructing said robot 71 and provided with a supporting rod 74 laid over pointed ends of a pair of fitting bars 73 fixedly mounted on both ends of an upper surface thereof and projected forward therefrom. Reference numeral 75 designates a supporting groove formed in a convex sectional shape and reference numeral 76 designates a plurality of fitting members mounted on said supporting groove 75 at end portions thereof and provided with an actuator 77 operating each pedal of a automobile. Reference numeral 78 designates said actuator for use in a shift lever provided in the body 72, reference numeral 79 designating a rear portion support provided in a rear portion of the body 72, and reference numeral 80 designating a supporting leg member consisting of a table 83 provided at an upper end of a support 82 standing on a base plate 81. Reference numeral 84 designates a driver's seat placed on the body 72 and mounted on a slide rail 85. Reference numeral 86 designates belts for fixedly mounting front and rear portions of the body 72 on said driver's seat 84 and hooks in the respective end portions of said belts 86 are engaged with said fitting bars 73 and said slide rail 85, respectively. And, the belts 86 are arranged on both sides of the body 72.
The robot 71 having the above described construction places the body 72 on the driver's seat 84 of the automobile and puts the supporting rod 74 on said table 83 of said supporting leg member 80 placed on a floor of the automobile to support said front portion of the body 72. And, the belts 86 are extended over the fitting bars 73 and the slide rail 85 to fixedly mount the body 72 on the driver's seat 84. In addition, the respective fitting members 76 are moved along the supporting groove 75 so that the respective actuators 77 may face to said each pedal and each pedal can be operated at a pointed end of each actuator 77.
In the above described conventional robot 71, in order to place the robot 71 on the driver's seat 84 and fixedly mount the body 72 of the robot 71 on the driver's seat 84, the belts 86 are extended over the fitting bars 73 and the slide rail 85 of the body 72 on both sides of the robot 71. However, a distance between the driver's seat 84 and a console on the side of said shift lever is reduced according to kinds of automobile. Accordingly, a problem has occurred in that the hooks of the belts 86 are difficult to be engaged with the slide rail 85 on the side of the shift lever and it is difficult to confirm an engaged condition between them according to circumstances. Also on the door side, in the automobile provided with a cover between the driver's seat 84 and the slide rail 85, it is necessary to separate said cover and then engage the hooks with the slide rail 85. In addition, it is difficult to separate the cover according to constructions of the driver's seat 84, so that it is difficult to engage the hooks with the slide rail 85 from the side portion of the driver's seat 84 according to circumstances. Moreover, there is the possibility that for example if the hooks of the belts 86 are insufficiently engaged with the slide rail 85, the hooks of the belts 86 are separated from the slide rail 85 due to a force and a vibration acting upon the belts 86 by an operation of the pedal by means of the respective actuators 77 and the like, a swing of the chassis during the driving and the like to move the body 72, whereby the operation of the respective pedals by the actuators 77 becomes inaccurate or the driving becomes difficult. Furthermore, a force lifting up the front end side of the body 72 repeatedly acts when pedalled by means of the actuators 77, so that there is also the possibility that the respective belts 86 arranged on both sides of the body 72 are moved rearwardly to produce a change in the fixed condition of the body 72.